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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

The

ELIZABETH REBECCA WARD was born June 5th, 1831, at Compton-Wyniates, in the county of Warwick, and was the eldest daughter of Mr. John Berrill, of Compton. At the early age of four years she was deprived, with a younger brother and sister, of the love and protection of both parents. orphans were then placed under guardians, appointed by their father, who was desirous, above all things, that his children should be brought up in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Mr. Gardner and Mr. Ward endeavoured to fulfil the important trust devolved on them, by choosing suitable schools for their young charges, and by every means in their power striving to promote their best interests.

Her

As a girl, Mrs. Ward was distinguished for her conscientiousness, her desire for mental improvement, and her aim to give satisfaction to those who had the rule over her. truthfulness was likewise very marked throughout her whole life. She was married September 19th, 1851, to Mr. James Ward, youngest son of John Ward, Esq., of Oxhill, in the county of Warwick.* The family of the Wards have been Methodists ever since the days of the Founder of the Society, and their house has been the home of the ministers from that time to the present.

Mrs. Ward was an affectionate wife and devoted mother, and was beloved by all who knew her. She joined the Methodist Society June 5th, 1855, and received her first class-ticket from the Rev. H. Laugher. Her leader mentions how constantly she expressed herself thankful to her Heavenly Father for having brought her "out of darkness into His marvellous light;" and how she seemed to love to think of God as her Father in connection with the incidents of her

daily life. She continued a faithful member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society until it pleased God to remove her from this world of sin and sorrow. For some time before her death the Lord was evidently preparing her for her home above, by visiting her often with severe bodily affliction, which prevented her very frequent attendance at Divine worship on the Sabbath. Still, she kept holy that day, and impressed upon her children and servants the importance of conse. crating its hours to the service of God.

It is worthy of remark how careful Mrs. Ward was ever to set a good example, and to avoid every occasion of stumbling to those who had not yet been brought under the influence of the Gospel.

In a letter written to her bereaved husband by a gentleman who knew her well, occurs this passage: "Your wife was one of those very few ladies one occasionally meets with, whose superiority, while it impressed you, yet throw a charm over every action, and tended to heighten the great kindness which she always manifested."

About three months previous to her decease, various members of her family were visited with scarlet fever, and it is thought she had a slight attack of the same a month prior to her last illness. One Sunday about this time, when confined to her room, she expressed a wish to be alone, and afterwards said how happy she had been; she had felt that her sins were all forgiven by her Saviour, and it seemed as if she enjoyed some foretaste of the bliss of Heaven."

Mrs. Ward was confined of her fifth child on Sunday, June 26th, 1870, after which she experienced severe pain, which continued till her death. Two days after her confinement, her little girl of four years of age was smitten

* See "Christian Miscellany" for October, 1857, p. 316.

with fever, which in three days terminated fatally. When the mother heard of her child's illness, she at once said she would not recover, adding, that she had given her to God at her birth, and the Lord would take her again."

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She was so calm that she was able to give directions for the funeral of the little one, and observed that she should soon follow her. Though she suffered most acutely, she was never heard to murmur, but was frequently engaged in earnest prayer to the effect that God would take her to Himself; and when a friend expressed a hope that she might recover, she exclaimed, "How can you wish me to live? There is nothing but a life of suffering before me." Her illness rendered her powerless to move without assistance; so much so that she once implored most earnestly of the Lord strength to change her position in bed. The prayer was answered, and help, as by a miraculous power, afforded.

Three days before her death she was engaged the whole morning in severe mental conflict with the enemy of souls; but, after unceasing prayer and wrestling, she came off

more

than conqueror," repeating various passages of Scripture, and the following lines:

"Believe in Him that died for thee,

And, sure as He hath died,
Thy debt is paid, thy soul is free,

And thou art justified."

The following passage of Scripture was often repeated by her :-"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." When ordered to take some port-wine by her medical attendant, she was heard to exclaim, on partaking of it, that she should drink it no more till she drank it "new in her Father's kingdom" above.

A short time before the final summons, her eldest daughter was called to her bedside to hear her dying counsels. She urged her to give her heart to God while she was young. To a friend

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who was constantly with her she remarked that she "should soon be with those she had loved and lost," and should " sleep herself away." Once when she woke, she said she saw 'angels waiting for her." Her last word was Heaven," repeated several times with great animation. She passed away so quietly that the exact moment of her departure was scarcely known. Just before it took place her sorrowing husband came into the room; but her strength was then too far gone to permit of any other sign of recognition and farewell than one look. She died July 8th, 1870, leaving, besides her husband, four children to mourn her loss.

"Hark! a voice divides the sky,

Happy are the faithful dead! In the Lord who sweetly die,

They from all their toils are freed. Them the Spirit hath declared

Blest, unutterably blest: Jesus is their great Reward,

Jesus is their endless Rest."

THE local preachers of the Peterborough Circuit having expressed a wish that the name of one who for more than fifty years stood in their ranks, but who has recently been called from the Church militant to the Church triumphant, should be placed on record, the following sketch of the life and character of SAMUEL ROLLERSON has been written. It is regretted that materials for a full obituary cannot be obtained, as the life of our deceased brother was at one period full of incident and activity. It is known that for many years he kept a diary, but the house in which he lived having been burnt down, it was found that all his papers had perished; and it does not appear that he afterwards committed to writing anything concerning his personal history. He was born at the village of Folksworth, in the county of Huntingdon, in the year 1789. His

mother, a member of the Church of England, was a pious and remarkable woman. She repeatedly acted as parish clerk in the village. Like Hannah of old, she gave her son to God before he breathed the vital air; and as soon as he was old enough to receive instruction, she diligently implanted in his young mind those seeds of Divine truth which eventually grew and ripened into precious fruit. "The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom; " and our friend through life • thanked God for lessons learned from his strong-minded and devoted Christian parent.

For the first fourteen years of his life Samuel lived at home, and with his mother attended the services of the Established Church. In the fifteenth year of his age he was apprenticed to a baker at Hilton. At this time a number of French prisoners were located at Norman Cross, and business led young Rollerson frequently to the barracks. Methodism in those early days had found its way into the army, and religious services were often held in an out-house belonging to the barracks. Samuel, whose mind had for some time been exercised on religious subjects, was admitted to these meetings, and at one of them, while the hymn beginning,

"Behold the Saviour of mankind!” was being sung, he found his way to the Cross; his burden fell off, and the stable became to him the gate of heaven. He was born of God.

His second birth was the commencement of a new life. He at once took a decided stand. With a few pious people of Hilton, the nucleus of the existing Methodist Society in that place, he worshipped and worked for God. He suffered much persecution for his religion, especially from his father, a godless man; but the storm only served to deepen the roots of his piety, and to cause the tree of the "right-hand planting" of the Lord to bear much good fruit. At the close of

his apprenticeship he went to London, where he at once connected himself with the Methodists. He was at this time an earnest, praying, working, Christian young man, using every opportunity for promoting his own growth in grace, and trying at all times, and in all places, to do good to others. He managed, by dint of perseverance, to obtain an entrance within the walls of Newgate, for the purpose of reading the Scriptures and praying with the prisoners. The writer has heard the old soldier of Christ recount, with great pathos, some of his many city-life adventures; and tell, in hearty Methodist fashion, of the blessed seasons enjoyed by him in City Road and other London chapels.

In 1807 Mr. Rollerson left London for Peterborough. Here he met with Ann Rose, who afterwards became his wife, and who proved a helpmate for him till within five years of his death. She was a pious woman, and did her utmost to assist her husband in training their somewhat numerous family in the right way. Only three of their children survive them, all being members of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society. For some years Mr. and Mrs. Rollerson endured much family afflic tion, but they maintained their integrity, blessing God for all things.

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In the twenty-fifth year of his age brother Rollerson came to reside in Croyland, and his high-toned conscientiousness, and the decided character of his piety, may be inferred from the fact that he shortly left his situation because he could not comply with the requirements of baking on Sundays. For acting thus he was termed " fool;" but from that appellation he did not shrink, for Christ's sake, counting it joy thus to bear the royal mark of the kingdom of God. He commenced business for himself, and carried it on sixteen years. In 1831 he removed to Donnington, in the Spalding Circuit. He was then a local preacher, and was warmly welcomed by the Methodist Societies there; as also in the Boston

Circuit, where he afterwards resided for twelve months. He returned to Croyland, after an absence of eight years, recommenced his business, and continued in it till about five years since, when age and infirmities compelled him to retire. At the time of his death Mr. Rollerson had been a member of the Methodist Society for about sixty-eight years; for more than half a century a local preacher, and for many years a class-leader, in both of which offices he was acceptable to the people and blessed by the Head of the Church.

He was punctual and faithful in the discharge of official duty, never neglecting an appointment when it was possible to keep it. On one occasion, his wife being very ill, it was represented to him that he ought to stay with her, instead of going to preach. His reply was, "I am going to do the Lord's work, and He will take care of my wife." When at home he was always present at the means of grace: at the week-evening preaching, and at the prayer-meeting, his place was always filled, and his earnest and intelligent attention often cheered the preacher. In the estimation of some persons he occasionally overstepped the bounds of the decorum appropriate to the house of God, by giving utterance to the pentup feelings of his overjoyed heart; but his sincere "Amens" and loud " Hallelujahs" did more to help than to hinder true devotion.

As a private Christian he was devoted to the study of the Scriptures. The Bible he thoroughly believed to be,

By which the navigate

"The only star

bark of man could

The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss Securely,"

and he made it his every-day book. The old copy which he used for many years is quite a curiosity, being marked and thumbed from beginning to end. Next to the Bible he prized the poetry of the Wesleys. He could repeat from memory many of their hymns, and often did so with uncommon feeling and effect. Brother Rollerson gave him. self to prayer, both in his family and in private, was emphatically a man of prayer. He lived in its spirit, and, as a result, his faith was strong and his Christian life vigorous. He was a tender husband, a kind, though strict, father, and an obliging neighbour.

His last illness was somewhat short,

but he had not to prepare for death

when laid aside from the active duties of life. At times his sufferings were intense; but he bore them with Christian fortitude, and would repeatedly request his daughter-in-law to leave her work in order to read and pray with him. Of such a man it is not necessary to ask, How did he die? His life testifies of his safety. He was on the Rock; and just before his death, in reply to a question, he said, "I have no condemnation." On the 25th of January, 1871, in the eighty-second year of his age, he peacefully passed to the Home above.

W. F.

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Sabbath-school, and also a liberal subscriber to the Missionary Society. Both during the life-time of her husband, who for a long time was one of the main supports of the Society at Etruria, and since his death, the preachers of the Gospel have been heartily entertained in her home. During her last illness, she gave many pleasing proofs of the stability of her Christian principles, and the maturity of her religious experience. Often she would break forth in a hymn of praise, or quote some text of Scripture, expressive of the state of her mind. At one time, when her leader was repeating the lines,

"The world recedes; it disappears! Heaven opens on my eyes! my ears

With sounds seraphic ring,"

she raised herself in bed, and with almost supernatural vehemence exclaimed, while her countenance beamed with joy

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January 30th.—At Mumby, in the Alford Circuit, aged seventy-seven, Mrs. Ann Simpson, who was privileged in early life with the prayers, counsels, and example of pious parents of the Baptist persuasion. Her mind was religiously impressed from childhood, and her general deportment was amiable. It was not, however, until she had entered a Wesleyan family, that she earnestly sought salvation, and, through believing in Jesus, found it. This was about the year 1811, and from that time until her death, she remained in steadfast and consistent fellowship with the people of God. She loved the means of grace, and especially prized the class-meeting,

from which she was rarely absent. Her piety was genuine and uniform. She was a good wife, and an affectionate mother, who trained her children for God. Of late years she had much bodily weakness and suffering to endure; and, about two years ago, her health rapidly declined, so that she

was unable to attend the house of God. Her end drew nigh, and she knew it; yet she was not alarmed at the approach of death, but spoke familiarly upon the subject, and calmly gave instructions about what she wished to be done after her decease. She was a great lover of the Wesleyan Hymn-Book; and in statements respecting her religious experience at class, and at other times, largely quoted from it. A few hours before her death, she assured those around her that Jesus was "precious," and repeated the whole of the hymn com. mencing,

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February 23rd.-At Yaxley, in the Peterborough Circuit, Mr. Edward Cowell, in his seventy-fourth year. He was converted to God in early life, and soon began to preach. For a time he contemplated entering the ministry, but was dissuaded from this step by friends in the Circuit in which he then resided. This was probably a mistake, as he possessed qualifications which would have fitted him for a wider sphere of usefulness than that which he subsequently filled. As a local preacher, he took a high position, his services being much sought for; while the general estimation in which he was held was evidenced by his appointment, during the Centenary movement, to visit a neighbouring Circuit, for the promotion of Connexional interests.

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